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Freestyle swimmer Kushagra Rawat secured the first medal for India at the South Africa Aquatics meet at Newton Park Swimming Pool in Gqeberha, South Africa, on Monday. He clocked a time of 15:41:61 to claim gold in the men's 1500m freestyle event.
Rawat received tough competition from second-placed Matthew Caldwell, who was just eight seconds behind him. The Indian swimmer managed to seal the first spot while clocking a time of 15:41:61.
It is pertinent to note that a six-member Indian team contingent is currently taking part in the competition under the team of Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS).
Apart from Kushagra Rawat, two more Indian swimmers, namely Anurag Singh (16:22.75) and Krishna Gadakh (16:56.71) finished in the fifth and 10th positions, respectively.
Kushagra boasts a personal best time of 15:31:61. He won the gold medal at the South African Aquatics Meet but couldn’t breach his personal best score. That being said, the qualification mark for the Olympics stands at 15:00.99.
Maana Patel missed women's 50m backstroke final A at South Africa Aquatics meet
Apart from the Indian men’s performances, Maana Patel missed out on the women’s 50m backstroke final A as she clocked a timing of 30.53 seconds in the preliminary round at the South Africa Aquatics meet. Overall, she managed to secure the 13th position after her Final B performance, clocking 30.75 seconds.
There is room for improvement for both Kushagra and Maana and the duo would be hoping to display better results in the upcoming events ahead.
The likes of Sajan Prakash and Srihari Nataraj achieved direct qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Woman swimmer Maana Patel also secured participation through ‘Universality Quota’.
India are yet to secure a quota for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024. With a few more events coming ahead, India would be hopeful that they managed to secure participation in the sport.
